ICE detained a U.S. citizen in L.A. and charged her with obstructing an arrest
The family of a 32-year-old U.S. citizen said she was wrongfully detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers and falsely accused of "forcefully obstructing" officers during an immigration raid in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday morning.
Andrea Velez appeared in federal court Thursday charged with assaulting a federal officer while he was attempting to arrest a suspect and was released on $5,000 bail. She did not enter a plea and is due back in court on July 17.
The arrest comes as ICE and other federal agents have arrested thousands of people, many of whom have not committed any crimes. President Donald Trump promised aggressive immigration enforcement and mass deportations as part of his campaign platform.
Velez's sister, Estrella Rosas, and their mother saw the incident unfold moments after dropping Velez off at 9th and Main Street, where she works as a marketing designer. Rosas said she saw officers throw Velez to the ground and then put her in an unmarked vehicle.
"We dropped off my sister to go to work like we always do. All of a sudden, my mom in the rearview mirror, she saw how a man went on top of her. Basically, dropped her on the floor and started putting her in handcuffs and trying to arrest her," Rosas told NBC Los Angeles.
Rosas recorded her and her mother's reaction while watching the arrest. "That's my sister. They're taking her. Help her, someone. She's a U.S. citizen," Rosas says in the video.
The Union Del Barrio group, which supports Latin American and Mexican communities, posted video to Instagram that shows four officers detaining someone on the ground at the scene.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that Velez was arrested for "impeding an arrest after she forcefully obstructed an ICE officer by making physical contact with him."
Luis Hipolito was also arrested at the same time for allegedly assaulting an ICE officer, she said. McLaughlin said both he and Velez "kept ICE law enforcement from arresting the target illegal alien of their operation."
"Secretary Noem has been clear: if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," McLaughin said. She added, without citing evidence nor a timeframe, that ICE officers face a 500% increase in assaults.
A criminal complaint alleges that Velez "stepped into an officer's path and and extended one of her arms in an apparent effort to prevent him from apprehending a male suspect he was chasing and that Velez's outstretched arm struck that officer in the face."
But Velez and her family dispute this and are considering launching a civil lawsuit against the federal officers.
"Andrea is a victim of excessive use of force by federal agents, they had no right to stop her and no right to beat her. What you see in the videos is police brutality," Luis Carillo, Velez's attorney, told NBC Los Angeles.
The LAPD said it was called to the scene in response to a report of a kidnapping in progress by individuals who wouldn't identify themselves, but officers arrived to find a federal operation. The police said they had no prior knowledge of the operation and that while the crowd became "increasingly agitated," they made no arrests.
The statement mentioned the arrest of a woman, thought to be Velez, but did not mention her by name nor mention any alleged assault.
"At one point, a partially handcuffed woman approached and stood near a LAPD officer. After several minutes, a Federal agent approached and assumed control of the woman. LAPD was not involved in her detention or arrest," the police statement said.
Rosas, who is also a U.S. citizen, said her older sister is a graduate of Cal Poly and has never been in trouble with the law.
"When I saw the videos, they made me feel really upset," she said. "I'm a U.S. citizen, my sister is a U.S. citizen and we have rights and they violated her rights, so it doesn't make me feel secure that they're going to protect or respect my rights."
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